Broadband Access is Yet to Reach 700 Million People Across the World

A recent study conducted by Huawei India in partnership with Ernst & Young has found that 700 million people across the world do not have access to broadband. Several factors such as lack of awareness, cost barriers and lack of relevant content in rural areas is believed to have contributed for this mammoth figure.

The report is titled as “Connected Possibilities; Innovation, Integration and Inclusiveness”. The study revealed that only 5% of the broadband connections are established in the rural areas in comparison to 31% of total mobile phones.

The report also revealed that about 75% of the total broadband subscribers are residing in the top 30 cities in the world. It also stated that 60% of the total users belong to top ten metros and tier-1 cities. India fared the lowest among the broadband users in BRIC countries which includes Brazil, Russia, China and India. Out of these countries, India is positioned at the lowest position in terms of Internet and PC penetration.

A.Sethuraman, Executive Director, Huawei India was stated as saying, “Internet users in India on an average spend only 0.5 hours online each day.” He also said that it is the lowest among the BRIC countries and the major reason for this is affordability and accessibility bottle necks. The latest report highlighted the importance of telecom sector in contributing towards the GDP growth of the country. It stated that GDP growth of the country on an average increases by 1.2% with respect to every 10% increase in the mobile penetration rate.

The report by Huawei India and Ernst & Young stated that M-Commerce would be the next big thing in the telecom and banking industry. The education and healthcare industries on the other hand will witness 37% and 42% growth respectively. The report also stressed the relevance of e-Governance in the strengthening of government procedure and evaluation.